Page 390 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

41_571656 appb.qxd 11/10/04 12:50 PM Page 385
Foreign Phrase Definition Foreign Phrases 385

mea culpa [L.] my fault
merci beaucoup [Fr.] thank you very much

mère [Fr.] mother
Missa solemnis [L.] High Mass (Roman Catholic)

mitzvah [Heb.] blessing; commandment
n’est-ce pas? [Fr.] Isn’t it so?

nicht wahr? [Ger.] Isn’t it so?
nil desperandum [L.] “never desperate”—Horace

noblesse oblige [Fr.] the inferred obligation of high-ranking
people to behave well toward others

nom de plume [Fr.] pen name
non sequitur [L.] a remark having no bearing on what
was just said; an illogical conclusion
from the facts

nouveau riche [Fr.] newly rich, and hence unschooled in
the appropriate behavior of the wealthy

omnia vincit amor [L.] “Love conquers all!”—Virgil
on dit [Fr.] lit. one says; it is said
o tempora! o mores! [L.] “Oh times! Oh morals!”—Cicero, mean-
ing “What a time we live in!”
par avion [Fr.] by airplane; airmail

par exemple [Fr.] for example
Pax Britannica [L.] peace imposed by Britain

Pax Romana [L.] peace imposed by Rome
pax vobiscum [L.] peace be with you

père [Fr.] father
peu à peu [Fr.] little by little

peu de chose [Fr.] small thing; a trifle
(continued)